The incidence of diabetes mellitus is rising at an alarming rate but the conventional drugs used for its management have a number of limitations. Herbal medicines are known to be effective and safe for use in its management. Anthocleista nobilis G. Don (Gentianaceae) is a plant used in the traditional management of diabetes [1, 2] but its claimed effectiveness for diabetes has not been investigated. The present study was therefore designed to establish and hence validate the use of the plant for the management of diabetes. It was also aimed at investigating the class of phyto-constituents present in the plant. The root and stem bark extracts of the plant were investigated for antidiabetic activity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The animals were treated orally with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of both extracts for seven days. The fasting blood glucose (FBG) of the animals was monitored for seven days. Phytochemical studies were done by the standard procedures. Results showed that the root and stem bark extracts significantly (p<0.001) reduced the FBG of the diabetic animals in a dose related manner (Table 1). Abundance of terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins were observed in both parts of the plant. The present study has validated the acclaimed traditional use of A. nobilis in the management of diabetes. Terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids and tannins could be responsible for the antidiabetic activity of the plant.
References
- Diallo A, Traore MS, Keita SM, Balde MA, Keita A, Camara M, Van Miert S, Pieters L, Balde AM. Management of diabetes in Guinean traditional medicine: an ethnobotanical investigation in the coastal lowlands. J Ethnopharmacol 2012; 144: 353–361.
- Madubunyi II, Adam KP, Becker H. Anthocleistol, a new secoiridoid from Anthocleista nobilis. Z. Naturforsch C— J Biosci 1994; 49: 271–272.
